Search For the Seals
by Aini NuFire
Summary: Apocalypse Wars, Episode 6 - "Team Free Will" sets out in search of the long lost Seals in order to lock Lucifer back in the Cage.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: On to the second half of this verse! We've got four parts to this episode.**

* * *

THEN

 _Castiel crouched low at the edge of the trees behind the Devil's Gate. The initial influx of demons had petered out some, and in the frenzy of being set free, the portal was not yet guarded. He had no idea what he would find on the other side, or even once he was there how he would hope to locate a single human soul in the vast depths of the Pit. But he was determined to try._

 _…_

 _The sulfurous brume and cloying atmosphere of despair pressed upon Castiel's lungs with each toxic breath he took. Yet he did not turn back. He searched for hours, days maybe—time seemed to pass differently in Hell when there was nothing but an eternity of torment—keeping to hollows and crevices to avoid detection. But his target was not to be found in the barren wastelands of the Pit in some hellhound's den._

 _No, Castiel would have to turn to the black fortresses where tortured cries rose up in a discordant, unceasing chorus._

 _…_

 _Staying hidden was more difficult in the confines of the enemy citadel. The crack of a whip and bloodcurdling scream made Castiel flinch where he was pressed into a darkened alcove outside one of the torture chambers. From observations, he had already learned that this particular fortress belonged to a demon named Alastair, and that the ruthless sadist was currently preoccupied with a new 'guest.'_

 _Castiel closed his eyes and opened his senses to the pulse and throb of auras around him. Most were black, some red. Demons. Human souls condemned to this place had traces of other colors in their essences, though none pure. Opaque and dulled was all Castiel sensed, wrapped in fetid shrouds of gray and charcoal. Eventually they would be corrupted into demons._

 _But amidst all that cacophony was a single pulsar of brilliant green, a soul untainted and defiant, yet writhing in utter agony._

 _Castiel snapped his eyes open and swept down the corridor._

 _…_

 _Outside the door of an isolated torture room set in the back of the citadel, Castiel stopped. A human's screams echoed within, along with the muffled musings of someone taking far too much pleasure in his heinous deeds._

 _Castiel glanced up and down the perpendicular aisles on either side of him, which were momentarily clear. Clenching his fists, Castiel summoned up a small flicker of grace. Bluish-white electricity fizzled along his hands. He opened his palms, and gathered the energy into a crackling sphere. Then he planted his feet apart and shot the ball of lightning all the way down the passage where it struck the wall and exploded._

 _Castiel ducked into the corner just as the door swung open, nearly hitting him. He heard the demon shout and more commotion from down the hall. Castiel slipped out from behind the door and into the chamber as Alastair sprinted down the hallway to investigate._

 _Castiel's breath stole from his lungs at the sight of the human hunter on a rack, clothes in bloodied shreds, his torso turned into a canvas of macabre design. His face was stark white, jaw clenched against the pain. Tear tracks left grimy streaks down the sides of his face._

 _Castiel surged forward and deftly undid the leather restraints. The human moaned, and then cried out when Castiel slung an arm over his shoulder and hauled him off the rack._

 _He dragged the human into the passageway, and froze when he spotted Alastair round the corner at the end of the hallway. The demon pulled up short, expression slackening in dismay for a split second before it hardened into fury._

 _Castiel turned the other direction and ran._

 _…_

 _They managed to escape the fortress, and Castiel finally stopped in the gully of a jagged fissure. As soon as he lowered his charge to the ground, the human scrambled backward against the rock face._

 _"Who are you?" he ground out._

 _"Castiel."_

 _Leery hazel eyes rimmed with terror bored into him. "Let me rephrase that; what are you?"_

 _"I'm an angel of the Lord. And I've come to raise you from Perdition."_

 _…_

NOW

Gabriel stood at the edge of the war room conference table and gazed around at his assembled garrison, plus two human hunters. The archangel had to admit that a year ago, he never would have imagined himself working side by side with mortals. But the Winchesters had proven themselves on more than one occasion, and as the unofficial representatives of humanity, more or less, they had just as vested an interest in the Apocalypse as the angel resistance.

"So," Gabriel began, "Lucifer's now running top-side. Which means we need to change our strategy."

"We've lost, Gabriel," Hester spoke up. "Lucifer has risen. There's nothing left to do."

"That's the spirit," Balthazar muttered.

She shot him a dark glower. "With our small numbers, we can't even hope to defeat him."

Balthazar grimaced. "True. So, in that case, if no one has any bright ideas, I might just go find a nice winery to wait out the rest of what I'm sure will be a very short war."

Gabriel sighed. "Lucifer doesn't want to fight Michael," he said, raising his voice a tad before anyone else could chime in with their Debbie-Downer thoughts. "He never did, not directly. He'll evade Heaven for as long as possible and simply relish in destroying what's left of the Earth."

"Um," Sam spoke up, "sorry if this is a stupid question, but then how does he hope to win?"

"The earth falling into an unending cycle of death and destruction is Lucifer's idea of winning," Gabriel replied. "All he cares about is smashing Daddy's toys. You see, he was the favorite child before God created humans and such. And he's been locked in the Cage for eons; he'll happily try to wait out Michael in the hopes that Big Brother will eventually give up and surrender the planet to him."

"Not liking these forecasts," Dean put in gruffly.

"You mentioned we need a new strategy," Castiel interjected. "Do you have one in mind?"

Gabriel cocked a finger-gun at him and winked. "Glad you asked! There might be a way to stop all this. Lucifer, the Apocalypse. Of course, it's a long shot in the dark."

The angels exchanged confused looks. Sam Winchester raised his brows expectantly.

"Well, what is it?"

Gabriel folded his arms across his chest. "When God first cast Lucifer into the Cage, he had to lock it. And he couldn't just leave the key lying around for someone to easily let Lucifer out—Dad knew there were secret supporters in the ranks. So he took that key and broke it into pieces and scattered them across the globe."

"Why have we never heard of this?" Anna asked.

"You weren't supposed to. I only know the locations of two pieces, as I was responsible for hiding them. Raphael and Michael took the other two. That way no one archangel knew where to find all the pieces."

"If we don't even know where the final two are, how can we possibly use it to lock Lucifer up again?" Hester huffed.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "One step at a time. Let's start with what we've got and go from there."

"So, this key is supposed to lock the Cage again?" Sam asked. "Does Lucifer just get…sucked in?"

Gabriel grimaced. "Er, no. Someone will have to give him a push. Again, details to figure out later."

"And does that stop everything?" Dean asked next. "The whole Apocalypse? Demons taking over the earth? Angels attacking from on high?"

"Once Lucifer is off the table, Heaven won't have any reason to continue fighting down here," Gabriel answered. "And without its link to the Cage, the Devil's Gate will be weakened, and we'll be able to collapse it. It won't take care of the demons still roaming top-side, but at least no more will be making their way up."

Gabriel watched as the previously skeptical looks started turning intrigued, borderline eager.

"So," Dean said, "you can go get these first pieces?"

"We-ell…" he hedged. "That's where it gets tricky. See, no one was supposed to retrieve them. Ever. So I had to put some safeguards in place."

"What kind of safeguards?" Castiel asked warily.

"Heh, well, for starters, the Seals are warded against any angel from laying hands on their containers. Even myself. And there might be some traps along the way."

" _Might_ be?" Dean repeated.

Yeah…Gabriel had always been predisposed to Trickster tendencies. It's what had made slipping into the identity of Loki in his own private witness protection so easy.

"You two will have to go on this mission to get the Seals," he told the Winchesters.

The brothers exchanged a silent look before turning back to Gabriel.

"Alright," Sam said. "Where do we have to go?"

"One chamber is in South America under an Incan temple, the other under a mountain in the Cascades up in British Columbia."

"Guess we ain't driving," Dean muttered.

"I'll try to make the trip through the ether less strenuous than the last one," Castiel promised.

"Since time is of the essence, I suggest you split up," Gabriel said. "Two Seals, two Winchesters." He swept his gaze over the garrison. "Any one else want to volunteer?"

"Oh, alright," Balthazar spoke up. "I'll go with the Sasquatch."

Sam's jaw ticked at the moniker.

"I've always liked treasure hunts," the angel added blithely.

"I'll go as well," Anna said.

"One angel is fine," Gabriel countered. "I want this mission to be low profile."

"Balthazar isn't exactly subtle," she pointed out.

"Hey!" the other angel exclaimed. "I resemble that!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he can handle this errand."

Balthazar tossed him a cheeky grin. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Make sure it isn't misplaced." Gabriel turned back to Anna. "In the meantime, I'll be putting together some demon hunting missions for the rest of us, something to make a bit of racket and hopefully keep Heaven from figuring out what we're up to."

Anna ducked her head in assent, and Gabriel once again roved his gaze around to meet those of his brothers and sisters in arms. His heart constricted at the fear wavering in some of their eyes. The encroaching despair and resignation.

"The war ain't over yet," he said firmly. "So let's give em' hell."

* * *

After receiving the exact coordinates of the Seals from Gabriel, Castiel and the Winchesters along with Balthazar made their way out of the pocket dimension and into the woods outside.

"I'll flip you for South America," Balthazar said.

Castiel quirked a brow at him. "Why?"

"Lovely weather this time of year. Oh, and the cantinas are a blast. Little umbrellas in the drinks." He gestured with his hands as though holding an imaginary glass.

Sam's face scrunched up in confusion. "Are there actually any places left in the world with open bars?"

"No," Castiel said gruffly.

Dean shook his head. "Fine, whatever. Have fun in the jungle. It's probably hot as hell there."

Castiel frowned, and almost opened his mouth to say the comparative temperatures between the rainforest and Hell were quite different due to levels of humidity, but changed his mind. Based on Dean's tone, the hunter didn't seem keen on visiting any location with higher temperatures that might remind him of the scorching, sweaty cesspool they'd been forced to traverse.

"Any idea what kind of traps we can look forward to?" the older Winchester went on.

Balthazar shrugged. Castiel had asked Gabriel, of course, but the archangel had reluctantly admitted that it'd been so long, he actually didn't remember.

"Not the bucket of glitter above the door frame, I'm sure," Balthazar said.

Dean snorted, then turned to Sam. "Watch your back."

"You too."

"Don't worry," Balthazar chimed in. "I'll look after your gigantor brother. He's hard to lose, after all."

Sam shot the angel a withering look.

"If you run into trouble," Castiel said. "Sam can try to reach me through the bond."

Unfortunately, they hadn't had time to really experiment with the link between them. They'd learned from past experience out of sheer accident that two-way communication was possible under certain circumstances, but Castiel was curious whether it could be developed further.

That was something to be investigated at another time, however.

Balthazar stepped closer to Sam and reached out to grip the young man's arm. With a shimmer of Balthazar's grace, they slipped into the ethereal plane.

Castiel looked at Dean. "Ready?"

The older Winchester grimaced, but gave a resolute nod. Castiel took his arm, and then extended a thin film of his grace around them, encapsulating some oxygen to see Dean through the trip. Travel through the ethereal slipstreams was taxing on humans, the atmosphere too dense for their mortal bodies to endure for long. Castiel also tried to stay in front of Dean as much as possible, shielding him from the buffeting currents as they made their way north.

They exited into the woods at the base of the Cascade Mountain Range in British Columbia. A light dusting of snow sprinkled the area's thick vegetation. Out in the wilderness, it was peaceful enough to forget that war and ruin was ravaging the earth elsewhere.

Dean blinked and took a look around, then rolled his neck. "That was better this time, thanks." He shivered.

Castiel frowned. "Are you cold?"

"It's not that bad," the hunter replied. "I've got layers."

"Yes, your…flannel," Castiel remarked.

"Lay off the flannel, man."

Castiel turned away to hide a smirk. "Whatever you say."

The cold didn't bother him, and so his dark jeans and black jacket zipped all the way up was sufficient.

Castiel focused his gaze on the steep incline of the mountain, scanning through the foliage for the cave mouth where they were to enter. Spotting it, he headed that way. Dean followed, and they came to a stop at the edge while the Winchester got out a flashlight.

"What if there's a bear in there?" Dean asked.

Castiel canted his head for a moment. "The cave is uninhabited."

He ventured inside. Daylight suffused for several yards in before growing fainter, and then the flashlight beam became the primary source of illumination, running over rock walls and the path ahead at Dean's will. If it were completely dark, Castiel's eyesight would be able to adjust more easily to the one setting, but he'd have to make do for his human companion.

They pressed further in, and Castiel wondered just how deep into the mountain Gabriel had buried the Seal. And when they would come upon the traps.

There was the sudden sound of rock slipping, and in the next instant, a high-pitched squealing assaulted Castiel's ears. A swarm of fluttering dark shadows attacked in a mass of tiny claws and battering wing beats. The flashlight beam dropped to the ground and rolled as Dean threw his arms up to shield his head. Castiel swung blindly, but his opponents were too small and too many.

In as quickly as they had descended, the colony of bats had finished darting past and escaping out through the mouth of the cave. Castiel slowly straightened, blinking in surprise at the unexpectedness of that. Dean stood as well, eyes wide and pulse throbbing in the side of his neck. The hunter bent down to pick up the flashlight.

"What was that about the cave being uninhabited?" he said, apparently recovered enough from his fright to be cheeky.

Castiel shot him a glower, and resumed their trek into the heart of the mountain.

* * *

 **A/N: Sounds like we're in for an Indiana Jones type of episode! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Check out 29-pieces-of-me on Deviantart again for a pic of Balthazar and his fox!**

* * *

 **Part II**

Sam swept his flashlight around the interior of the ancient temple, centuries' worth of dust and erosion pretty much the only thing left. He'd never had a deep interest in archaeology, but he'd taken a class on Native American art at Stanford and the overview had incorporated bits of that discipline into the course. Sam supposed if they had the time and the world wasn't ending, he might want to stick around and investigate just from an academic perspective.

"Funny how even though the world outside is ending, this place is pretty much the same as it's always been," he commented.

"In a few hundred years, most major cities will look very much like this," Balthazar replied.

A muscle in Sam's jaw ticked. "We'll rebuild," he said staunchly. He had to believe that, that after this was all over, there'd be something worth it on the other side.

"If we succeed here," the angel pointed out.

"I thought Hester was the party pooper of your group," Sam quipped.

"Oh, she is. But I'm a realist."

"Then why volunteer for this if you think it's a long shot?"

Balthazar shrugged. "I walk on the wild side."

Sam rolled his eyes, then paused as his flashlight beam roved over a darkened space in the back wall. It looked like it descended into a cavern underneath the temple.

"Okay, Mr. Wild Side," he said, gesturing at the opening. "You go first."

Balthazar shot him a wry look, but then strode past him with a blithe air. Sam followed.

The passage sloped downward at a shallow angle for several feet before leveling out again. Sam guessed they were into the foundation of the temple's structure. They made their way down the tunnel for a few yards before coming to a solid wall of rock. Sam swept his flashlight beam over it from corner to corner, then settled on the center. A great figure of an eagle looming over the sun was carved into the stone.

Sam arched a brow. "Why do I get the feeling Gabriel directed the Incas to build this temple?"

Balthazar snorted. "It does seem to have Gabriel's dramatic flair, doesn't it? I wager the chamber with the Seal is behind this wall." He stepped forward and pressed his palms against the stone. "Should've brought a sledgehammer," he mused. "You might want to stand back."

Sam retreated several steps and watched as Balthazar clasped his fists together. A second later, the tunnel filled with the crackling aura of white plasma. The angel turned to the side, raising his arms back like a club, and then swung them down to slam against the wall with an explosive crack.

Sam threw his arms up to shield his face as dust and dirt went flying. Balthazar coughed, waving a hand through the haze. The wall was in crumbled ruins.

"What if you had brought the temple down on us?" Sam snapped.

Balthazar gave him an indignant look. "I held back."

Scowling, Sam directed his flashlight beam into the exposed tunnel, trying his best not to sneeze as grit tickled his nose. The interior was dark and musty, stale air permeating out from its depths.

Well, there was nothin' for it.

Sam took the first step inside. For the first few yards, the air was thick with dust that made his eyes squint and water uncomfortably. But it eventually settled, and he was finally able to see something other than his own flashlight beam refracted through the haze. He roved the light up and down the walls, these less fashioned, more naturally rough and irregular. There was nothing on the ground, which Sam was kind of grateful for. He didn't want to come across any Incan mummies.

A brighter glow started to suffuse through the shaft, and Sam turned in confusion to find Balthazar's entire profile simmering with a faint outline of angelic aura.

Balthazar looked around the more vastly lit tunnel. "Ah, that's better."

Sam decided to save his battery, and clicked his flashlight off. "So," he said, starting forward again. "Traps…"

He felt it the instant his foot set down on a raised tile and it sank beneath his weight with a click. Before he could fully process the 'oh-shit' moment, the entire cave floor beneath him started to crumble into silt.

Sam pitched backward in an attempt to escape, but he was already falling—until Balthazar grabbed him by the back of his jacket and hauled him back several paces onto solid ground.

He clutched at his chest, breathing heavily as the dust settled, revealing a pit traversing ten yards of the tunnel's length. Sam flicked a harried look at Balthazar. "Thanks."

The angel huffed. "You just had to jinx it." He crept forward and peered into the pit. "And, hello, lovelies."

Sam inched closer to the edge and immediately heard a series of sibilant hisses issuing from the bottom. In the prismatic array of Balthazar's light, he could see the pit was filled with dozens of snakes sluggishly crawling over each other or lying still in coiled beds. He couldn't help but shudder at the close call.

"Looks like there's just enough ledge to get around it," Balthazar spoke up, pointing to the sides of the tunnel where a bare lift of rock floor remained.

Sam raised his brows dubiously. That would require quite the balancing act. "What if it's unstable?"

"I'll go first. And don't worry; if we fall in, I can keep the snakes from biting us."

Sam grimaced. He supposed that was good…but he'd still rather try the ledge walk before simply hopping into the pit and walking through a sea of serpents.

Balthazar went first, pressing his back against the cave wall and shuffling along the narrow protrusion of floor. Sam swallowed hard, and followed. He tried to resist looking down, but it was hard not to when he heard silt trickling loose, and he froze, waiting to see if the shelf would give out from under him. But it held.

After what seemed an agonizingly long pace, he finally reached the other side and scrambled away from the pit, pulse pattering wildly. Coming back this way wasn't going to be pleasant.

They continued on, this time Sam keeping his eyes peeled on where he stepped so as to avoid setting off any more traps. He spotted what looked like a raised tile, and lashed a hand out to grab Balthazar. The tingle of touching part of his grace form startled Sam for a second, and he jerked his hand back.

"Watch that step," he said, thrusting his chin toward the spot in question.

Balthazar made a thoughtful noise in his throat. "Good eye." He stepped around it.

Sam veered around on the other side, but now he couldn't help watching the floor while tensely waiting to see if it would collapse underneath him into another pit. Though, surely Gabriel would have opted for some variety with his booby traps. Sam almost wanted to be annoyed with the archangel, but he understood the importance of keeping a relic with the power of opening the Devil's Cage locked away good and secure.

Still, it would have been nice if Gabriel had remembered enough to draw them a map.

"Watch it," Balthazar barked, and Sam jolted just as he was about to step on another raised tile.

His jaw ticked sheepishly. "Sorry." He stepped over it.

"The traps probably get worse the further in we go," Balthazar remarked as he started forward again, only to almost trip. Sam caught a glint of wire reflecting the light just as it twanged and snapped.

Balthazar's face slackened in dismay. "Oh, bloody hell. Run!"

Several more clicks sounded around them, ahead and behind, and Sam bolted into a mad dash as projectiles started shooting out from notches in the walls. He ran as fast as he could, crossbow arrows zinging back and forth like mad bees. A fiery sting scored across his arm. Screw it, Sam flung himself the rest of the way, hitting the ground and sliding several feet like he'd hit a home rum. But he'd cleared the bolts, which were no longer swishing through the air above his head.

Sam rolled over and clutched at his arm, craning his neck to get a look. His sleeve was torn and tinged with a little blood, but it was just a mild graze.

Balthazar came to stand over him. "Are you alright to continue?"

Sam pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah." They'd come too far to turn back now, anyway.

With a more sober expression, Balthazar nodded, and turned to take the lead. Sam followed. He wondered how Dean and Cas were faring, if they'd also come upon a pit of snakes and armed crossbows up in British Columbia. His thoughts also turned to Gabriel and the others. Sam didn't doubt their prowess taking on demons, but if they were intentionally trying to draw Heaven's attention…well, that could be dangerous. He hoped they were okay.

Balthazar stopped suddenly. "Do you hear something?"

Sam frowned, and strained his ears listening. "Um, no?"

The angel held up a hand to wait, his brows knitting together in concentration. Then Sam heard the distant sound of rushing water. Only, it was growing louder, becoming a thunderous roar.

They both turned to gaze back down the passage, eyes flying wide as a cascade of water came crashing around the corner and toward them. Sam pivoted sharply and started to run, Balthazar right beside him.

"Remind me to kill Gabriel when this is over!" the angel shouted as they barreled down the passageway, heedless of triggering any more traps.

Sam skidded to a stop when they reached a dead end, and whirled as the deluge hit a few moments later, the strength of it sweeping his feet out from under him. He slipped beneath the water's surface before finding right side up again, and jumped back up with a gasp.

The shaft was quickly filling, the light of Balthazar's grace across the water sending shimmering rings across the ceiling. Sam kicked his legs against the battering current until he managed to grab hold of a cleft in the rock wall and brace himself.

"Balthazar!" he shouted.

The angel was currently trying to tread water as the torrent buoyed him about.

"Ugh, hang on!" Balthazar spluttered as a wave struck him in the mouth. He closed his eyes, and the glowing silhouette around his form began to radiate brighter.

It encased him in a flash before swirling in on itself, completely transforming into a luminescent fox of rippling celestial wisps. Sam watched the grace animal dive beneath the surface of the rapidly rising water level, its shape distorted but gleaming nevertheless.

Sam's head rose another inch, pushing him against the roof of the tunnel. He craned his neck to keep his mouth and nose elevated as long as possible, while out of one eye he saw the fox press itself against the cave wall, and then start worming its way into what must have been a small gap.

The water surged upward, and Sam sucked in a deep gasp before he was submerged completely. Darkness enveloped him at Balthazar's absence, and Sam felt a thrill of terror. But then the faint glow inside the crevice pulsed sharply once, then a second time. Sam felt vibrations ripple through the water.

The rock wall suddenly exploded, and Sam was thrust backward a few inches before the rushing current carried him forward again. It poured through the now broken wall and spilled out the other side, depositing Sam in a sopping heap on the rocky floor.

He rolled onto his stomach and coughed up some water, but he was alive.

Balthazar's fox swished over and did a little flip that instantly transformed back into his human form, though still with a faint halo to illuminate the tunnel. Sam sourly noted that the angel was not at all wet.

"You like blowing stuff up, don't you?" he scowled as he got to his feet.

Balthazar shrugged, but couldn't hide a grin. "On the bright side, I think we're almost there."

"Great," Sam muttered. He couldn't wait for this little adventure to be over.

* * *

Dean did not like dark, creepy caves. At least it was warmer the further in they went, the weight of a few billion tons of earth on top of them making for pretty good insulation. But it was also kind of suffocating; Dean didn't like the feeling of being entombed, either.

He heard the faint click but didn't know what it was, only that Cas suddenly shoved him against the wall. There was a swish of air as something large came swinging down from the ceiling—a rack of sharpened stakes.

Dean exchanged a startled look with Cas, who was pressed against the opposite wall, the contraption rocking slightly between them.

He swallowed. "That was close."

Cas slowly pushed away from the rocks. "Perhaps I should go first."

"You immune to those things?"

"My reflexes are a little faster than yours. No offense."

Dean shrugged. "None taken."

He swept his flashlight around the ground behind them, trying to find what had triggered the trap in the first place. He spotted what looked like a square of rock sunken into the floor, and crouched down to inspect it. "Okay, so we look out for these things."

Cas came to stand next to him, canting his head in scrutiny. He then turned and started down the passage again. Dean stood and carefully stepped around the rack of pain and woe to follow.

With his flashlight trained on the ground, Dean kept an eye open for any more trigger tiles, but they'd gone quite a ways without finding any, which seemed weird.

"Think it was just the one?" he asked.

Cas let out a soft snort. "I doubt it. More like Gabriel wanted anyone who came in here to feel lulled into a false sense of security."

"Awesome," Dean muttered.

They went a little further, and then Cas shot an arm out to signal a stop. The angel crouched down and lightly reached out a finger into the air. It took Dean a moment to notice when a thin wire caught the light at just the right angle.

"Nice catch," he said.

Cas straightened. "I don't know whether to be impressed by Gabriel's ingenuity or exasperated."

Dean shrugged. He'd probably appreciate this whole setup more if he wasn't in the middle of it.

He and Cas both carefully stepped over the wire, but as soon as Dean's foot set down, he felt something give underneath him with a click. What the—

A belch issued from something inside the cave walls, and suddenly the entire section of tunnel up ahead erupted with geysers of flames shooting out from firing holes in repeated spurts, lighting up the passage with blazing orange.

Dean threw an arm up against the sweltering heat. "That son-of-a-bitch," he cursed, careful not to stagger back into the trip wire.

Cas's mouth pressed into a thin line. "Definitely exasperated," he grumbled.

Dean stared at the randomly spaced fire shoots whose cyclic gusts made it impossible to cross. "Okay, can't you just jump us through the ether and past all this crap?" he asked Cas.

Cas's frown deepened. "Unfortunately, it seems as though Gabriel somehow managed to cut off access to the ethereal currents while we're in here."

Dean lifted his gaze to the ceiling. Of frickin' course, because that would be too easy.

Cas turned his attention back to the flaming obstacle, brow furrowing in deep consideration. Dean waited, not sure what either of them could do to get past it, unless there was an off switch somewhere. He cast his gaze up and down the walls in search of a concealed knob like the floor tiles.

Nope, nothing that he could see.

"I think I have it," Cas finally said. "The fire bursts are shooting at regular intervals. If we follow the sequence, we can get through."

Dean's brows shot upward. "Excuse me?" Cas wanted them to walk _through_ that?

The angel nodded. "I'll go first."

"Um, Cas," Dean said nervously.

"I'll be fine."

Cas walked right up to the edge of the obstacle, waited for the first line of shooting fire to die down, and then stepped forward. Dean's hand cramped around his flashlight, he was gripping it so tightly, as he watched Cas take a step, then pause for a couple of beats, then take two more, then one back. All the while the flaming geysers continued to shoot out around him.

Dean was holding his breath by the time Cas made a short jump out the other side and turned around to look back. He would have sagged in relief, if it wasn't his turn now.

"Only move on my mark," Cas called out. "I'll guide you through."

Dean's gut clenched as he approached the edge of the fire. Well, the angel had led him through Hell once. This wasn't as bad.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself.

"Go!"

Dean stepped forward, sweat beading his forehead from the heat buffeting around him.

"Go!"

He moved again, forcing himself to remain absolutely still unless Cas told him otherwise.

"Two forward. Stop. One back."

Dean focused on Cas's instructions as the fire belched and hissed around him, yet he hadn't been singed yet. When he reached the last section, Cas reached out to grip his arm and helped him stumble the rest of the way through.

Dean let out a shuddering breath. "I'm beginning to wonder if Gabriel was the one who came up with the idea for Indiana Jones."

Cas quirked a confused look at him. "Who?"

"Another pop culture reference." He shook his head as they resumed their trek. "Seriously, if we save the world, I'm sitting you down in front of a TV with the last two decades of classic film and television series."

"How many books will you read in return?"

Dean pulled up short and blinked dumbly at the angel. "What?"

Cas's expression was carefully neutral, though Dean could swear there was a devilish gleam in his eye. "Only seems fair," the angel said nonchalantly. "An exchange of cultural enrichment."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Let's focus on completing this mission first."

"You're the one who brought it up."

Dean scowled and bit his tongue for a moment, but then perked up. "How many books would I have to read for you to wear something in flannel?" he retorted.

Cas narrowed his gaze, and Dean smirked. But before they could continue the argument, the entire mountain began to shake.

What the- he hadn't stepped on anything!

Rocks began to rain down around them. Cas threw himself over Dean, driving them both to the ground. The flashlight went flying, and then they were plunged into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you guest for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)**

* * *

 **Part III**

Castiel grunted as the last rock glanced off his shoulder. It was a small one, though, along with the others that had pelted him in the cave-in. Small mercies. The worst was the loose sediment trickling down the back of his neck.

The ground stopped shaking and the mountain settled. Castiel waited another moment to make sure nothing else would come down on them, and then pushed himself off the ground, letting Dean up from underneath him. It was dark, save for a faint ring of white light from Dean's half-buried flashlight several feet away. Castiel summoned up a flicker of grace to suffuse around his shoulders and provide more illumination.

Dean coughed into his sleeve as he staggered upright and looked around. "Now this is just pissing me off," he grumbled.

Castiel had to agree. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yes."

Dean hobbled over to his flashlight and scooped it up, then swept the beam around the area. The tunnel was partially blocked, but not entirely so, and the rocks weren't compacted.

Castiel went over and began to push a few of the boulders aside. Then he hopped up on some piled on the ground to slip through the gap he'd widened. Dean's flashlight beam bobbed as he followed.

Castiel scanned the area on the other side for more traps, but couldn't detect any. In fact, there appeared to be an archway in the tunnel ahead. "I think we're almost there," he said, though that made his guard heighten twice as much. He traversed the last of the distance very carefully.

But they made it to the next section without incident. Castiel exchanged a look with Dean, and then they ventured inside.

The short passage opened up into a large dome chamber with smooth walls. Across from the entryway near the far wall was a stone pedestal, and an iron box sitting on top of it.

"Finally," Dean muttered. He took a step inside the chamber, and suddenly a wash of light filled the room as a shimmering film of gold energy rose up around the pedestal, encapsulating it in some kind of mystical forcefield.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Dean threw his arms up and scowled.

Castiel frowned, but before he could begin to problem solve this latest complication, a booming voice echoed throughout the cavern.

"He who comes seeking this treasure must prove themselves worr-tthy," it intoned.

Dean's brows shot upward. "Is that…?"

Castiel rolled his eyes at Gabriel's dramatics. The deep, albeit obviously put-upon baritone, was unmistakably that of the Trickster archangel.

"What the hell does prove ourselves mean?" Dean asked. "What, getting past all the traps wasn't enough?"

Castiel was getting a bad feeling about this. He instinctively took a step back, but the exit suddenly pulsed with a similar magical shield that was around the pedestal. Rippling waves of golden plasma swam up the walls until they converged at the apex, and then everything warped, pitching Castiel into blackness.

When he regained his balance, it was dark. Castiel whirled. "Dean? Dean!"

No one answered. Where was the Winchester? Or where was Castiel? Had he somehow been transported out of the chamber? One of Gabriel's methods of warding off angels? Castiel forced himself to take a breath. Something felt…off. Like there was a bluntness to the peripherals of his senses. …Like he wasn't in the same dimension anymore.

He felt a displacement of air. "Dean?"

A shadow moved in the murkiness, slowly coming closer. Lucifer stepped forward.

Castiel went rigid. No, it couldn't be.

"Hoping to use the Seals against me, hm?" the Devil mused nonchalantly. "Clever. I'll give Gabriel that. But are you truly ready to accept the consequences of going down this path?"

Castiel frowned, eyeing him warily. "What do you mean?"

Lucifer spread his arms. "I mean, if I'm going back to the Cage, I'll make sure Gabriel gets dragged in with me."

Castiel clenched his fists and leveled a glower at the Devil. "You're not real. You're just a hallucination of some kind, one of Gabriel's tricks."

Lucifer pursed his mouth. "I'm a little more than that. I'm a prophetic manifestation."

Castiel quirked a confused brow. "A what?"

"An omen of what's to come," he clarified. "Why else would Gabriel put all these insane safeguards in place? He doesn't want to end up in Hell with me!" Lucifer paused, eyes beginning to smolder red. "Are you prepared to send him there? The brother who saved you? Some 'thank you.'"

"That won't happen," Castiel snapped. "I won't let it happen."

Lucifer shrugged blithely. "Maybe not with Gabriel. But it could be anyone, really. Sam Winchester? The boy with the demon blood you saved. Think you can keep him safe in the coming battle? Or his brother? Or your own brothers and sisters?" Lucifer scoffed, then cracked a minacious grin. "Someone's going to die, Castiel, if you go down this road."

Gritting his teeth, Castiel squared his shoulders and began to summon his grace. "I won't fall for your lies. And the only one who's going to die here today is you."

* * *

Dean spun around, sweeping an alarmed gaze over the chamber. "Cas!"

One moment the angel had been there, and the next he was gone, along with that surge of golden energy that had washed up around them. Had it done something to Cas?

 _Dammit, Gabriel!_

There was a small 'brp,' and Dean twisted back around as the forcefield surrounding the pedestal dropped.

" _You can take it,_ " a soft voice susurrated on the air.

Dean whipped his knife out and whirled. "Who's there?"

" _You can take the Seal,_ " it prodded.

Dean growled low in his throat. "Where's Cas?" he demanded.

" _Angels can't tread here,_ " the lilting voice replied. " _Take it._ "

He hesitated, but slowly turned back to the box on the granite plinth. It was what they'd come all this way for, though Cas had better be waiting for him outside when this was over.

Dean strode toward the stand and reached out to carefully lift the lid, still wary of booby traps.

" _Of course, you'll be dragged back to Hell if you take it._ "

Dean jerked back and whipped his head around. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

" _That is what the Seal is meant to do,_ " the voice purred. " _Open the Cage. You'll be sucked in, too, if you use it._ "

Dean's heart started hammering against his chest, memories flashing in his mind's eye of smoke and sulfur and screams.

"Who says I'll be the one using it?" he retorted.

" _The angels won't be able to. They couldn't even come this far to take possession of it. So who else will it fall to?_ " The voice paused. " _Your brother?_ "

Dean's heart seized. "You leave my brother out of this!"

The air shivered with the slithering whispers.

" _Then who will use it?_ "

A lump started swelling in Dean's throat, constricting his oxygen. No, he couldn't go back there, never again. His body flushed hot with terror, blood rushing in his ears, yet not enough to drown out the cackling, harsh voice of his captor, whispering in his ear like broken glass.

 _"Ah, yes, scream for me."_

Dean wrenched away from the pedestal, gasping for breath. _"Cas- Cas, where are you?"_

He was too deep under the mountain and couldn't get enough air. He thought about stumbling for the exit, trying to get out, but something held him in place.

They'd come so far…

Dean looked back at the iron box which contained one of the pieces to stopping the Devil, stopping the Apocalypse, and saving the world. He'd already gone to Hell once saving others. He…he could do it again. Would do it again, if that's what it took.

Besides, despite the remembered horrors and the paralyzing fear of going back to that place…Dean knew with unshakable certainty that there was an angel out there who would come for him. Cas would come for him.

Dean pivoted sharply and stormed toward the box to take it.

* * *

Sam's feet made squelching noises in his boots for every step he took. And Balthazar couldn't seem to restrain himself from chuckling under his breath about it.

Seriously, next time, Dean was gonna have to be stuck with the juvenile angel.

Although, Sam wondered whether the other two Seals would have such elaborate traps in place. He didn't know much about the other archangels, Michael and Raphael, but it sounded as though they didn't share Gabriel's creativity or sense of irony. It may very well be that a pair of angels could go retrieve the last Seals and the humans could sit that one out.

Sam slowed as the entrance to a chamber appeared up ahead, and he searched the ground for more triggers. There didn't seem to be any. Still, he was wary as he and Balthazar approached the archway, the angel's aura casting a pale glow over the craggy sandstone.

It opened up into a large, square chamber, with a cylindrical pedestal near the rear wall. There was an iron box sitting on top. The ground around it was flat and smooth, so it didn't look like there were any traps around it. Sam started forward to inspect the display, make sure there wasn't a trip latch or something for when he opened the box, but as soon as he moved, Balthazar's light went out.

Sam whirled. "Balthazar?"

The angel didn't answer.

Sam fumbled for his flashlight, but the thing sputtered weakly. Dammit, it was waterlogged. "Balthazar!"

There was a puff of displaced air, followed by the temperature dropping a few degrees. Sam clutched the flashlight like a weapon. "Balthazar, I swear, if you're—"

Something brushed against his arm and Sam spun, but he couldn't see anything in the dark. Until a faint glow started to emanate from the pedestal with the iron box, a soft green glow casting an eerie halo around the chamber. Sam twisted his head around, but there was still no sign of Balthazar.

" _You shouldn't take it, Sam,_ " a disembodied voice whispered from above.

Sam jerked, pulse thumping erratically in his throat. "Who are you?" Was there something living under the temple? Or was it another safeguard Gabriel had left in place?

"Gabriel sent us!" he called out to the darkness. "We need the Seal to defeat Lucifer. He's been released from the Cage."

" _You shouldn't take it._ " The sibilation slithered down the walls. " _If you take it, it will strengthen the link you have to Lucifer._ "

Sam frowned. "I don't have a link to Lucifer."

" _Boy with the demon blood._ "

A muscle in Sam's jaw ticked, and he clenched his fists. "I'm not that anymore. My blood may have been an offering to Lucifer, but that's it."

" _Who do you think Azazel was working for when he created you?_ " the phantom voice whispered. " _And your blood was offered to Lucifer, creating a bond._ "

Sam shook his head sharply. No. No, this couldn't be real. It was a trick.

"I've got a bond with an angel," he growled. "And it's not Lucifer."

Indistinct murmurs rustled around him. " _Hael was wrong about that bond neutralizing the demon blood. It's only gone dormant, waiting. If you take this Seal, you'll awaken it again._ "

Sam's heart hammered faster, and he cast a look back at the ghostly glowing box. They needed this if they were going to ever have a shot at defeating the Devil.

But, what if they never found the other two Seals? What if all this was for nothing, and Sam taking this Seal did activate a link with Lucifer? What if Hell came looking for him again, and it endangered those around him?

What if the demon blood could still corrupt him into something evil? Something monstrous?

Sam closed his eyes and thought of his brother. Of Dean being forced to carry out their Dad's order after all.

He didn't think Dean would do it, though. His older brother hadn't before; why would he now?

And then Cas's voice echoed through his mind, harsh and crackling in its fervency as the angel insisted Sam was anything but a monster.

He let out a shuddering breath.

Opening his eyes, he drew his chin up and took a step toward the box. "I'm not a monster."

" _What about Lucifer?_ " the voice hissed.

"My friends will keep me safe," Sam replied. "And they'll keep me human."

He reached for the lid.

* * *

Balthazar couldn't move. His feet were mired in mud run slick with blood, bodies scattered around the barren crater. Bodies with faces he recognized.

Anna. Muriel. Hester. Inias. Hael— _no, she shouldn't even be here_. Gabriel. Castiel. His entire garrison, slaughtered. Their frail bodies lay in broken, twisted heaps on the ground, ash floating on the air from their grace exploding into dust.

"What the bloody hell is this?" he shouted to the sky. It was wreathed in a roiling brume with vermillion lightning. In the distance, huge fires consumed the earth and spewed cloying smog into the atmosphere. The Devil's Gate, once a thin rift in space, was now as wide as the crater, a gaping maw that gave a full view of Hell on the other side.

It didn't look much different than the earth.

"We failed."

Balthazar whirled to find Castiel suddenly standing beside him. The angel's clothes were torn, blood was streaked across his face, and his eyes were dull and hollow as he gazed out at the carnage.

"The Seals won't work," he continued, tone heavy and laden with defeat. "We never should have tried."

Balthazar turned back to take in the horror before him, his chest constricting painfully. Everyone he loved…everyone who meant more to him than anything, even if he wasn't very good at telling them that.

Balthazar wanted to run. This hadn't happened yet. There was still time to stop it. If they never retrieved the Seals in the first place…

He turned to the ghost of Castiel and shoved him hard. "You bastard, you're not even him!"

The facsimile stumbled, but otherwise didn't react.

"Castiel would never regret trying," Balthazar spat at him.

This Castiel lifted deadened eyes to his. "We can find another way. Please, Balthazar. Don't let this happen."

Balthazar ground his teeth. The urge to run was so strong…despite his daring, devil-may-care demeanor, at times he really was a coward at heart. The only reason he'd stuck around this long was because he had nowhere else to go.

But, if he abandoned his friends, abandoned this plan…this scenario could still end up coming to pass. Not that Balthazar thought so highly of himself that him sticking around could in any way prevent this. But…he would rather die honorably with his family than be that coward.

He hardened his gaze on the fake version of his brother. "You know what, piss off!"

Balthazar pivoted in order to storm away from the scene, not knowing if he could actually go anywhere. The air wobbled and warped, and suddenly he was back in the underground chamber, with Sam Winchester standing a few feet away, blinking in uncertainty and confusion, as though he'd just had reality ripped out from under him, too.

Sam glanced at himself, then at the pedestal. His throat bobbed. "Um, was that…did…?" he said haltingly.

Balthazar cleared his throat to remove the spiky lump that had settled there at the sight of his fallen siblings. "I'm gonna file a complaint with Gabriel when we get back," he snarked, taking refuge behind his standard shield, unwilling to let the human see just how shaken he was. He couldn't seem to get his heart rate back to normal.

Sam took a deep breath, and turned to the box. Balthazar could see it had a bunch of angel warding carved into it, so he stayed back.

Sam's movements were slow and careful, almost fraught with fear as he gingerly touched the lid and began to lift it. Balthazar tensed for something to happen, but it seemed that little vision quest was the last of the safeguards. Sam reached into the iron container and pulled out something wrapped in a shroud, then hurriedly stepped away as though expecting another trap. Nothing happened.

He brought the item over to Balthazar and held it between them, then unwrapped it. Inside the fabric was a small medallion with a notch on one side and an incomplete symbol engraved on it, like the design was meant to continue on another piece.

Balthazar exhaled sharply. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Castiel jolted to find himself suddenly back in the cavern, with no sign of Lucifer. A small gasp had him turning, and there was Dean, also roving his gaze around, eyes wide with shock and disorientation.

"What the hell just happened?"

Castiel looked around in confusion. "I think that was…a test."

The forcefield around the plinth suddenly dropped like liquid plasma running back into the ground and disappearing.

"I take it that means we passed," he added.

Dean regarded the box warily for a moment before approaching the stand. He reached for the lid, only to hesitate and start to draw back.

Castiel frowned. "Dean, whatever you saw, it wasn't real. It was just trying to scare us away from taking the Seal."

The hunter swallowed hard. "I know."

Taking a deep breath, he reached forward again, placing his palms on either side of the lid and lifting it off the box. He froze.

"Uh, Cas?"

Castiel straightened at Dean's tense tone, and strode over to look inside. He could feel the repelling forces of the warding on the box, but he didn't plan to try touching it. He peered over the rim of the container, and gaped in dismay.

The box was empty.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm posting early today because I won't be around later for the normal time.**

* * *

 **Part IV**

Dean stared at the bottom of the iron box where the Seal was supposed to be. Except there was nothing in there.

He shot a dubious look at Cas. "What the hell?"

The angel gaped in equal incredulity. "I don't understand."

"Is this another of Gabriel's tricks?" Dean scowled. He picked up the box off the pedestal to look underneath it, but there was no secret compartment or hidden latch to reveal one. He looked around the cavern where something might have been thrown into a corner and overlooked. Nothing.

Cas's throat bobbed. "Someone…must have already gotten to it," he said, voice thin with the gravity of the situation.

Dean, however, was pissed.

"So we just went through all that for nothing?" He tossed the empty container on the ground where it thunked in the dirt. "Frickin' awesome."

Cas's shoulders drooped. He looked around helplessly for a moment before saying, "We should head back."

Dean shook his head in frustration, but it wasn't like there was anything left to do here. And so with defeated postures, they turned to make their way back out through the tunnel. At least the shooting fire obstacle had shut off, maybe because the 'course' had been completed. Too bad there wasn't actually a prize at the end of it.

Who the hell could have gotten here first? Had Heaven figured out what they were up to already and made a preemptive move? But angels couldn't touch that box, so, Hell? How had anyone found its location anyway when it was supposed to be a carefully kept secret?

Dean sighed. It wasn't like Gabriel didn't have a big mouth sometimes, and there was that stint he did with the pagan deities. Did Dean really expect the archangel to have kept quiet _all_ these millennia about what was probably a good story?

And so what about the other Seal? Would Sam and Balthazar find it gone, too? Well, guess they could all kiss this long shot plan goodbye before they'd even had a chance at it.

Daylight permeated the darkness up ahead as the opening came into view, along with trees and bushes outside. Dean put his flashlight away. Now he'd have to endure another trip through the ether on top of everything.

Dean stepped out into the open, only to pull up short in paralyzed fear as he came face to face with his most haunted nightmare standing only thirty feet away.

For a moment, he wondered if he was hallucinating like back in the cave, if this was still one of Gabriel's tricks.

But the demon that had tortured him in Hell looked just as surprised to see him.

"Well, would you look at this," he said, voice somewhere between a growl and a hiss, high-pitched and gravelly like glass on a chalkboard. Beady eyes peered out of an angular face with a long chin. His light beard and short hair had a dusting of snow, as though he'd been out in the woods for a prolonged period.

Dean couldn't breathe, couldn't move, but he started when Cas stepped up beside him, brushing his shoulder.

"Alastair," Cas said darkly.

The demon's eyes flashed with fury. "Angel." He quickly schooled his expression. "Now what brings you two all the way out here?"

Cas narrowed his gaze. "You don't know?"

Alastair shrugged blithely. "I was tracking a demon around these parts. Crafty little devil, keeps eluding me. But I know he was here."

He took a step to the side, and Dean couldn't help but flinch. Alastair's lips curled upward at that.

"My quarry may have given me the slip, but lo and behold what I found instead," he went on, honing his sharp gaze on Dean. "My favorite chew toy."

Dean hated how weak his body suddenly was, how just the sound of the demon's harsh rasp was enough to cripple him. And after that vision he'd just had…no, he couldn't go back. He'd lied; he wouldn't survive it again, not even a _day_ …

Cas stepped in front of Dean. "I'll give you one chance to leave."

Alastair bared his teeth. "I'll leave, alright. But I'm taking back what you stole from me."

Cas pushed Dean behind him a few feet, and he stumbled as static prickled on the air. Blue wisps rippled down the angel's shoulders.

"You will never touch him again," Cas growled.

With a roar, his panther erupted in a surge of grace, an iridescent aurora in the shape of a great cat encapsulating the angel's human form. Both figures' eyes glowed blue.

Alastair snarled in return, and a burst of black smoke exploded around him, a serpent's head rearing up. Unlike the snakes of lesser demons, this one looked like a dragon, minus the wings. Dean's blood froze in his veins.

Alastair charged, and Cas launched forward to meet him head on. The panther and wyrm collided with a clash of gnashing teeth and electric sparks. Alastair tried to duck past Cas's shield, but the panther swiped a paw at him that knocked Alastair to the ground. His wyrm, however, snapped at the feline's shoulder with hideous fangs that sank into rippling blue with stormy black.

Cas jerked away, breaking the hold. The panther let out a yowling hiss and struck back, but the serpent was agile and darted out of the way, snaking in underneath. Its amorphous head swept in low and rammed itself into Cas's core, slamming Cas to the ground and flipping the panther onto its side. Before the cat could get up, two stubby arms billowed out from the wyrm and raked its talons into the panther's belly.

"Cas!" Dean yelled as the feline roared in pain. He wanted to run to his friend, but he was like David in the middle of two Goliaths.

Alastair strode over to Cas and kicked the angel so hard that his human and animal forms went crashing into a tree together, bark splintering under the impact. They hit the ground with a dull thud and sputtering of grace. Then the demon turned, and once again Dean lost all control of his faculties.

He tried to retreat as Alastair started toward him, but tripped over some moss and ended up tumbling backward against a tree, which caught his fall. By the time he scrabbled upright, Alastair was looming over him, tendrils of tenebrous smoke writhing about the demon's shoulders.

Alastair reached down and wrapped steely fingers around Dean's throat. "I'm going to enjoy taking you back to Hell," he sneered.

Dean pushed one hand against the granite arm as it shoved him back against the tree, but it didn't budge. The vision was coming true…he hadn't even taken the Seal and it was coming true…

Alastair leaned in close, his scratchy voice and prickly beard coarse against Dean's cheek. "And you are going to scream for me," he whispered. "I'll teach you all my tricks. And maybe, one day, if you're a good boy, I'll let you up to try them on someone else."

"No," Dean ground out past a throat half closed. He fumbled with his other hand to reach inside his jacket for an angel blade. He didn't have the leverage, and his vision was going spotty, but he managed to grasp the hilt and pull it free. Dean struck out with the only angle he had, which unfortunately only grazed the demon, but it was enough.

With a raging bellow, Alastair dropped him and staggered back a few steps, an orange glow briefly flaring between two ribs.

Dean doubled over in a coughing fit, eyes watering, but he saw the furious glare Alastair shot his way.

"I'll show you how to use a knife, _boy_."

A flare of blue light nearly blinded Dean for a second, and then Cas was tackling Alastair. The two unearthly beings rolled in a tangle of human limbs and stormy auras. The panther regained its feet first and immediately lashed out at the wyrm, scoring its claws down the serpent's face. The smoky shape shrieked and reared back, one eye a blurred patch of fog. Slivers of lightning spat out from the other pupil.

Alastair roared and leaped up to punch Cas in the side of the head. The angel went down on one knee. The panther's head snapped downward, teeth bared, but the demon clenched a crackling fist and delivered an upper hook to the cat's jaw that sent it reeling backward.

Alastair then lashed out and grabbed Cas by the throat. "I should put you on a rack," he seethed. He punched Cas while holding him in place. "You come into my house? Steal my things?"

Dean shakily stumbled to his feet, hand cramping around the hilt of the angel blade. Raising it high, he broke into a sprint toward Alastair's exposed rear, and stabbed the blade straight into his back. The demon arched backward with a sharp gasp, and Dean twisted the blade.

Cas surged upward and planted a hand flat across Alastair's forehead. The angel's eyes blazed like sapphire suns, and Alastair screamed. Dean staggered backward, throwing an arm up to shield his face as brilliant orange light exploded from Alastair's mouth and eyes like a sun had just gone supernova inside him. The wyrm shrieked and blew apart.

A second later, Cas removed his hand, and the demon dropped, wide vacant eyes staring up at Dean.

Cas's panther staggered and then began to melt away. Cas shot a hand out to catch himself on a tree trunk, and Dean snapped himself out of his shock.

"Cas!" He rushed forward, roving a worried gaze over the angel and trying to figure out what injuries he'd sustained.

"Dean, are you all right?" Cas asked earnestly.

Dean's throat hurt, and he was feeling pretty shaken, but he'd live. "Yeah, I'm fine. How 'bout you?"

Cas grimaced. "I think I need a… 'breather,' before I attempt ethereal flight."

"Yeah, sure," Dean said, finally reaching out to take Cas's arm and help him slide down the tree trunk into a sitting position. There didn't seem to be any physical wounds that were bleeding, which left the spirit ones that irked Dean because he couldn't help treat those. He sat down beside the angel, both of their backs resting against the large spruce.

For several long moments, neither of them said anything. Cas's eyes were closed and he appeared to be meditating or something, or maybe just conserving strength to heal his injuries. Dean wasn't really sure how that bit worked.

His gaze kept getting drawn to Alastair's body. The fact that his torturer was dead should have brought Dean some relief, shouldn't it? But it didn't. It only reminded him of the horrors he'd experienced all over again. That fear had paralyzed him, almost prevented him from fighting back. That wasn't him. That wasn't the hunter his father had raised.

"Stop beating yourself up," Cas said quietly, voice low and extra gravelly with exhaustion.

Dean threw the angel a perplexed look. "And how would you know that's what I was doing?"

Cas pried one eye open to gaze at him pointedly. "I can sense it."

Dean crossed his arms defensively. "The bond letting you read my mind now?"

"No." He opened both eyes and shifted slightly with a wince. "But it lets me sense the gist of your emotions when they're particularly strong. And you're radiating frustration and guilt. The first is understandable, but the second is unnecessary. You shouldn't be ashamed of the trauma you went through, or the effect it has on you."

Dean looked away, throat constricting painfully. He was silent for several long moments in which Cas might have gone back to meditating. Dean didn't check when he started speaking again in barely above a whisper,

"Back in the cave, with the Seal…I was told that taking it would lead to me getting dragged back to Hell."

"It wasn't true," Cas automatically replied.

Dean shook his head and tipped his head back, still finding it difficult to breathe. "Maybe not taking the Seal being a direct cause, but it could happen another way." He turned back to his friend. "I _never_ thought I would see Alastair again. And here he was, and he almost…" He broke off with a choked sound. "We're at war, Cas. With _demons_. Who's to say I won't get dragged back into the Pit?"

Cas didn't answer right away. " _If_ it ever happened," he finally said. "I would come for you."

Dean closed his eyes at the unfettered surety and devotion in that simple statement. He'd known it, deep down, but the confirmation washed over him like a balm to his frayed nerves.

He let out a shuddering breath. "I know."

There was another beat of silence between them.

"I was confronted by a vision of Lucifer," Cas confessed.

Dean frowned, and turned to look at him, but Cas's gaze was fixed on his lap.

"He told me that no matter what we do, someone I love would end up either being dragged into Hell forever or killed." Cas shook his head. "I know that casualties are expected in war. But I'm not just fighting alongside fellow soldiers, but alongside my family and closest friends. To lose any of them would be devastating."

Dean nodded sagely. "Same here. But…I think that just means we'll fight even harder to protect each other."

Cas finally looked up, a small smile gracing his face. "That's true. I certainly will."

Dean smiled back. "Me too."

And hey, sheer will and stubbornness alone had pulled him through some pretty dire situations before. Whatever was coming, they'd face it. Together.

* * *

Gabriel stared at the Seal resting on the top of his desk. It had been so long since he'd laid eyes on it. Such a simple looking trinket with the power to move Hell. If it was reunited with the other three pieces.

"This Alastair didn't have the Seal?" he asked, looking up at Castiel and Balthazar who were standing on the other side of the desk.

"No," Castiel replied gravely. "But he said he'd been tracking another demon in the area."

Gabriel's mouth pressed into a grim line. That was really bad news. He honestly hadn't expected anyone outside of his own men to get past all the traps he'd set, let alone the last one.

He flicked another look at Castiel and asked gently, "How is Dean?"

"I think he still has some things he needs to come to terms with. But he'll be fine. He and Sam have gone back to Camp Chitaqua, but they said they'll be ready to return as soon as we locate the other Seals."

Gabriel nodded. He was quite impressed by the Winchesters' fortitude, though it no longer surprised him at this point.

"Dean isn't the only one who has things to come to terms with," Balthazar spoke up harshly. He planted his palms on the desk and leaned forward. "Why didn't you warn us about that last trap?"

Gabriel winced. Ye-ah, that had been a gross oversight on his part. "I honestly didn't remember."

"Bull. You had to spend a lot of time crafting that spell, tailoring it so it would tap into an individual's greatest fears." He jerked away from the desk, eyes blazing with rage and hurt. "Why would you make it so personally cruel? That's low, even for you, Gabriel."

"Balthazar," Castiel said quietly. "It was meant to keep people away."

"There are a dozen other spells he could have chosen instead," the other angel snapped. Balthazar whirled back to Gabriel. "You've always been eccentric, Gabriel, but never once have I thought you enjoyed torturing people."

Gabriel sighed. That was because his band of Merry Men didn't know everything about his time as a Trickster. He'd enjoyed tormenting humans quite a bit, then. Granted, only the ones who _deserved_ it…

But that didn't change the fact that he'd caused pain to his family.

"It wasn't meant to be torture."

Balthazar snorted. "What do you call seeing everyone you love slaughtered?"

Gabriel's gut clenched in sympathy. Even Castiel looked away, a muscle in his jaw tightening. None of them had shared the details about their visions when they'd returned, only to say that they'd been warned away from taking the Seal, that the visions seemed to prey on their greatest fears.

"It wasn't meant to be torture," he reiterated. "It was a test. I figured that someday, the Seals might be needed, and true heroes would go looking for them. The visions tapped into your greatest fears because only heroes are willing to stand and defy them."

Balthazar shook his head in disgust, apparently not satisfied with that explanation. "And what would have happened if any one of us had failed to pass your test?"

Gabriel had the decency to look abashed at that. "Uh, you would have stayed trapped in a mini pocket dimension for eternity."

Castiel's brows rose in dismay.

Gabriel grimaced apologetically. "I couldn't exactly let anyone who got that far leave and come back with others to try again. But I knew you wouldn't fail," he added.

Balthazar made a harsh sound in the back of his throat. "You couldn't know that."

Gabriel lifted his chin. "Yes, I could. If I had any doubts, Balthazar, I would have let Anna go instead."

"I wouldn't wish that experience on her," the angel snapped.

Gabriel's shoulders heaved. "You'd spare her that. You'd spare any one of them that. You think too little of yourself, Balthazar."

The other angel worked his jaw for a silent moment before he pivoted and simply stormed out. Gabriel sighed. This was why he wasn't cut out for the big brother role, at least not the responsible, teacher one. The one with the pranks and jovial tricks, yes. But not the one who had to teach and guide and basically be a father at times since God was long gone.

He glanced up as he realized Castiel was still there. "Want to air your grievances?"

Castiel's brow furrowed. "No. I understand what you intended." He looked over his shoulder at the empty hall where Balthazar had retreated, then back. "It's just…we live with those fears every day. They've come true in ways already, and…"

"And you wonder why we keep fighting," Gabriel finished.

"No, I know why. But…what if victory is just as unbearable as defeat?"

Gabriel suddenly felt the weight of the world pressing down upon his shoulders. He rarely let himself envision what the world would be like if they somehow found a way to stop the Apocalypse. The earth was still in ruins. Heaven would be…there was no telling what state Heaven would be in. And the rest of them?

"I think about that, too, sometimes," he admitted. "And I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you."

Castiel nodded soberly. "Dean said family will fight harder than anything for each other. I think he believes that will give us an advantage."

Gabriel's mouth quirked, and he cocked his head in agreement. "I'll take that bet."

He was glad to see a tiny tug at Castiel's lips, but then the other angel turned serious again.

"If the final test was to measure worthiness, then who could have gotten to one of the Seals already?"

Gabriel's gaze hardened. That was the million-dollar question. "Not many."

"But not an angel."

"No." Not unless they were working with someone else of a different species, and Gabriel found that highly unlikely.

Castiel paused. "Do you think it could have been the demon Alastair was tracking?"

Gabriel ground his jaw. "Honestly? It's possible."

Castiel canted a confused look at him. "But demons don't possess selflessness or valor."

"No, but if the demon isn't afraid to face his greatest fear?" He shrugged. But then the question became—who? And who was he working for? Was Lucifer trying to obtain the objects that had the power to cast him back into the Cage? And if he already had one Seal, that was gonna be hard to retrieve. As would the other two, which Gabriel had no idea where to find.

He picked up the medallion on his desk and fingered it in his palm. Well, they'd gotten one, at least.

It was a start.

…

NEXT TIME

A hulking dude wearing biker leather spoke up from the invading gang: "Put your weapons down, and nobody has to get shot."

Dean flicked his gaze over the intruders, not liking the odds. He glanced at Ellen and Jo and Risa, who were casting questioning looks his way, ready to follow his lead.

Cas stepped forward, eyes dark like gathering storm clouds over a roiling ocean. His grace began to shimmer in opalescent ripples around him. "I suggest you be the ones to put your weapons down."

The leader narrowed his eyes sharply, but didn't appear afraid. Instead, he grabbed a small oval device that'd been clipped to his vest, and threw it on the ground at his feet. Dean had only a split second to see what looked like a sigil smolder to life. And then the object exploded.


End file.
